White Sox expected to interview Carlos Mendoza in managerial search

The White Sox have gotten permission to interview Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza in their managerial search, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). It isn’t clear whether Mendoza has already sat down with Chicago brass or is planning to over the coming days, but he marks a new entrant into the mix.

Mendoza, 42, has spent more than a decade in the coaching ranks. A Venezuela native, he began his career as a player in the Giants system back in 1997. He played professionally for 12 years in the San Francisco and Yankees organizations, briefly topping out at Triple-A. After the 2009 campaign, he transitioned into coaching in the New York farm system. He spent the 2011-12 seasons managing at the lower levels of the organization, and he worked his way onto the MLB coaching staff by 2018.

Over the past five seasons, Mendoza has worked on manager Aaron Boone’s staff. He broke in as an infield instructor and was bumped up to bench coach going into the 2020 campaign. A year later, he got looks from the Tigers and Red Sox in their managerial searches. Those respective positions ultimately went to A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora, but Mendoza was reportedly among the final five under consideration for the Boston job.

The White Sox are the only team without a manager currently in place. Tony La Russa held the position for the past two years, but he stepped away from the team late in the season due to health concerns and subsequently announced he wouldn’t return to the role in 2023.

Thus far, Chicago is known to have interviewed bench coach Miguel Cairo (who served as interim manager for the stretch run while La Russa was out), Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol, Astros bench coach Joe Espada and former Chicago bench boss Ozzie Guillén. They’ve also been tied to Braves third base coach Ron Washington, although it isn’t known if the sides officially sat down at any point.

It seems they’ve started to narrow down their list of potential candidates. Over the weekend, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reported that Espada was no longer in consideration. Heyman adds that Washington and Guillén are also unlikely to land the position at this point.